Clark University student, 2 others die in Haiti car crash

WORCESTER — Three members of a group associated with Clark University died in a vehicle accident in Haiti Wednesday, and two were injured, according to school officials.

Those who died were Clark student Amanda K. Mundt, of Amherst; professor David Bell's adult daughter, Meagan L. Bell; and Ms. Mundt's aunt, whose name was not immediately available.

Mr. Bell, of Belchertown, interim director of Clark's Department of International Development, Community, and Environment, was seriously injured and was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Ms. Mundt's father, Kenneth Mundt, of Amherst, was also injured and was flown to a Florida hospital.

A Clark spokeswoman forwarded an account of an accident from the online Haiti Press Network that stated four people were killed on Route Nationale #2 in the area of Fonds des Negres. According to the report, three foreigners, who were on a mission in the southern part of the country, and a Haitian driver died when a minibus collided with a truck.

Ms. Mundt, 22, had been on leave from Clark for the past year working full time as an intern with the Boston office of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, according to Clark officials.

"We were devastated to learn about the accident in Haiti. All of us at Clark University are mourning the tragic loss of life and injury to much-loved members of our community," Clark President David Angel said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to family, friends, and all who were touched by this tragedy. We will support each other with love, reflection, and kindness in these difficult times."

Ms. Mundt spent the summer of 2011 establishing and running a summer school for students in Grades 3-6 in Les Cayes, a seaport town on the southeastern peninsula of Haiti. It is not far from Fonds des Negres.

The project was funded through her winning proposal to the Davis Projects for Peace Foundation, which earned her a $10,000 grant, as well as through a $2,000 grant from the Restavek Freedom Foundation.

She and the rest of the people in the vehicle Wednesday appear to have been on their way back from a trip to the school when the collision happened, said Brian Concannon, director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti. She sent him a message Tuesday saying that she planned to leave Les Cayes early Wednesday to catch a plane that afternoon. She would have continued her internship when she came back.

The institute's small Boston office has been "in shock," Mr. Concannon said. "She's just an extraordinary person," he said of Ms. Mundt. "It was kind of amazing for someone her age to care so deeply."

In 2010, Ms. Mundt had also been visiting Haiti and left on a flight before the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated the Caribbean island nation, according to Clark spokeswoman Jane Salerno.

At Clark, Ms. Mundt was majoring in international development and social change. She was a Making A Difference Scholar and a three-year member of the women's field hockey team.

"She possessed a high level of personal integrity and responsibility that she applied to all of her endeavors, whether on the field, in the classroom or in her efforts in poverty-stricken Haiti," Linda Wage, Clark's head field hockey coach, said in a statement on Clark's athletics website.

Ms. Mundt attended Amherst Regional High School and then Greenfield Community College, from which she graduated in 2009 before enrolling at Clark.

She was due to graduate from Clark next year.

"Our thoughts and hopes are with Dave Bell, his family, and the Mundt family, and we mourn this tragic loss of life," said William Fisher, Clark University associate provost and dean of graduate studies. "Amanda was a bright and very promising young student who had long been motivated by her passion for Haiti and its people. Dave Bell is a very dedicated and much beloved professor with a dedication to his students and their work."

Mr. Bell, Mr. Mundt and Ms. Mundt all served on boards of Amherst-based Opportunities for Communities Inc. Ms. Mundt had been involved with the group since its inception. Opportunities for Communities President Douglas Albertson said in an email, "We looked at Amanda as both the present and the future. She had amazing gifts to touch people, to teach and to give of herself. If only more of us would learn from her example of selfless love, many of the world's troubles would not exist... I hope the Worcester community and others will remember her and her leadership of giving."